Tritons Drop Conference Opener at Cal State San Marcos

Related Links

SAN MARCOS, Calif. - The University of California San Diego women's volleyball team dropped its California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) opener Saturday, falling 3-1 at cross-county rival Cal State San Marcos.

Scores from The Sports Center were 25-20, 24-26, 25-13, and 25-15. UC San Diego dropped to 4-3 overall, while Cal State San Marcos improved to 5-4. It was the first CCAA match of the season for both squads.

Lackluster hitting plagued the Tritons, who posted a season-low .036 attack percentage with 37 kills and 32 errors in 137 attempts. They hit in the negative in sets three and four.

The Cougars had almost 20 more kills, finishing with 55 for the night. They hit .210 (55-26-138) and held advantages in digs (58-50) and blocks (8-6).

Three players had at least 10 kills for Cal State San Marcos including Olivia Aguilar (11), Maddy Newcombe (11), and Courtney Hulla (10). Grecia Cordero-Barr amassed a match-high 17 digs.

The first set had seven tie scores and three lead changes, each of those numbers being the highest of the four sets. UC San Diego hit .116 (14-9-43) in the frame, its best number of the match.

Down 19-16 in the second set, the Tritons scored seven consecutive points to take a 23-19 lead. The Cougars tied it, 23-23, with four unanswered points. The teams then traded points before back-to-back kills from Rieble and Cortesi gave the set to UC San Diego, evening the match at 1-1.

With the score tied 4-4 early in the third set, San Marcos reeled off four straight points and went on to lead the rest of the way. At 20-12, the Cougars slammed the door shut with five consecutive points.

UC San Diego earned the first point of the fourth set, but Cal State San Marcos took nine of the next 11. The Tritons hit -.062 (7-9-32), their lowest of the match, while the Cougars swung at .276 (15-7-29), their highest of the night.

After seven straight road contests, UC San Diego finally plays in La Jolla next week, hosting San Francisco State on Sept. 14 and Cal State East Bay on Sept. 15. The matches, which start at 7 p.m., will be played at Main Gym on campus as RIMAC Arena is in the final stages of a renovation. Admission is free.